ABOUT SUDATH ABEYESEKERA

Born in 1971, in Gammeddegoda in the Galle district, Sudath Abeyesekera received his BFA from the Institute of Aesthetic Studies at the University of Kelaniya. He has held three successful one-man exhibitions in Colombo, as well as attending a number of International work camps. Sudath was awarded the Royal Overseas Travel Scholarship for the year 2002, which enabled him to work and study in Scotland.

He is currently a senior art director of a leading advertising company.

Of his work Abeyesekera comments, "I use Michelangelo's David as an icon to inspire and refresh my beleaguered generation. I see the biblical figure - who overcomes the brutal militarism of Goliath and the paranoid antagonism of Saul-inspiring courage, honest spirituality and full-blooded lust for life. The challenge implicit in such a heroic life is an enormous struggle".

ABOUT PRADEEP CHANDRASIRI

Born in Kandy, in 1968, Pradeep Chandrasiri is a painter, sculptor and installation artist who also uses photography and video in his work. In 1997, he obtained his BFA from the Institute of Aesthetic Studies at the University of Kelaniya, and, subsequently a Diploma in Archaeology from the same University.

He has held numerous exhibitions in Sri Lanka and has also participated in exhibitions in India, Japan, England, Canada and the Netherlands and has taken part in a number of international art workshops. Winner of the Commonwealth award for Arts and Crafts in 2002, Chandrasiri is a visiting lecturer at the Universities of Colombo and Kelaniya.

His current work focuses on the social and cultural crises existing in Sri Lanka today. In his words, 'my art takes shape in the current political space of Sri Lanka with painful memories of historical social strategies. It is this tragic history that I commemorate…

ABOUT JAYAMINI DE SILVA

Jayamini de Silva was born in 1972 in the Southern town of Ambalangoda. In 1994 she was awarded a scholarship by the Chinese government to study at Beijing's Central Academy of Fine Arts. She has since exhibited her work both in Sri Lanka and China, and is currently Lecturer in Chinese Art at the Department of Fine Arts at the University of Peradeniya.She works with silk and rice paper, stone colours and ink, and focuses her work on themes of 'the agony and ecstasy of woman' and 'harmony, joy, and togetherness amongst others.' She lives and works in Kandy.

ABOUT MALATHIE

Malathie was born in Colombo, and won a scholarship to study sculpture at Charles University, Prague in 1968. She has worked in many media, including painting, ceramic and stone carving. In 1982 she became an apprentice bronze caster to Lynn Chadwick, and later went on to set up her own bronze foundry in Kadunnawa, Sri Lanka which she ran for seven years. Malathie now works mainly with stone, drawing much inspiration from nature and her Buddhist faith.

She currently lives and works in South London, and says of her work: 'Sculpture has enriched my life and given solace in times of deep sadness. Stone and wood require strength and a force of precision but do not always respond predictably to pressure. They must be respected for their own internal harmony and movement, the mysterious desire to yield to the force of nature and the appearance of solidity, which may stand in direct contrast to the potentially fragile interior. Stone and wood involve a constant emotional and aesthetic challenge, both to respect the rhythms and flow of the material and to bring something of the individual artist to the concrete visual statement of Self and Other being created. I sincerely hope that my work has achieved this'.

ABOUT WIJELATHA EDIRISINGHE

Wijelatha Edirisinghe is a painter and visual artist from Kurunegala. She is a BFA Graduate from the Institute of Aesthetic Studies, University of Kelaniya, and has, since 1993, participated in numerous exhibitions across Sri Lanka. Over the last two years, her work has attracted a number of awards, and has been added to the permanent collection of the Serendib Gallery, Colombo. Her satirical mixed media reliefs evince a keen political awareness, and shine a light on many questions of particular relevance to Sri Lanka's today.

'As once war was exploited peace is now being exploited. Peace cannot be introduced by another country nor can peace be achieved by the signing of an agreement between two powerful personalities. Attaining peace is also not a magical process. Peace can only be achieved if the community as a whole desires it and creates peace. The process of peace is addressed with equality, unity, impartiality and dignity interlinked like the links in a chain. You and I can destroy all impediments to achieving peace.'

ABOUT CHAMINDA GAMAGE

Born 1970, in Colombo, Chaminda Gamage obtained his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Institute of Aesthetic Studies at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. His work has been exhibited both locally and abroad since 1986, and he has won many awards including the State award for the Outstanding Painter of the Year.

In his present work he draws on indigenous motifs that have been 'borrowed' by the West and is concerned to question the equilibrium between nature and man-made objects in his installation work. He says of his practices: "I have been always inclined to inquire into man made disasters like bomb explosions and how these affected our youth at different levels. On dwelling deeper, questions like who are those that constitute youth and what is religion and society and the nature of true freedom arose. Many of the works displayed at my 'Freedom February' exhibition were influenced by such thoughts. My present work is based on three-dimensional images and installations with the bright parts hidden on a black background. My aim is for you to experience these images as I see them in my mind."

ABOUT KINGSLEY GUNATILLAKE

Kingsley was born in Wadduwa in 1951, and received a BFA from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, going on to study at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. His work has been exhibited across the world, from the galleries of Colombo, Kandy, Fukuoka and Bratislava to Glasgow and Manila. He has attended numerous workshops in Sri Lanka and abroad, and has received many local and international awards for his work.

In his present work titled 'displaced woman" he has moved away from the use of strong primary colours into softer tones. He is currently lecturing at the Institute of Aesthetic studies, University of Kelaniya, and is also the art director for the Asian Environment Protection Organisation.

ABOUT TISSA RANASINGHE

Tissa Ranasinghe was born in Yogiyana, Sri Lanka, and studied painting in Colombo, and sculpture at the Chelsea School of Art in the 1950s. He went on to learn bronze casting at the Royal College of Art, London, where he would later teach.
His bronzes have been exhibited in cities across the world, including Colombo, Tokyo, Sao Paolo, Montreal, Kathmandu, Edinburgh, London (including repeatedly with the Royal Academy of Arts), and most recently in a solo show at the National Gallery, Bangkok. His work can be found in numerous public collections, including London County Council, Museum of Modern Art, Malmo, Sweden and the Government of Sri Lanka, for whom he has completed a number of commissions including statues of three Prime Ministers and the first Governor General. He currently lives and works in southwest London.

ABOUT SUJITH RATHNAYAKE

Sujith Rathnayake was born in 1971 in Ranna in the Deep South of Sri Lanka, and received a BFA from the Institute of Aesthetic Studies, University of Kelaniya. His work has garnered many awards since he was selected as the 'Artist of the Year' by the George Keyt Foundation in 1999. He was also selected by the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum under the 'Winds of Artists in Residence' programme to work in Fukuoka, where his work was subsequently exhibited. Sujith has also shown work across Sri Lanka (including in Colombo, Moratuwa, Hambantota and Matara), as well as in Dhaka and Enschede, Netherlands.

He has recently staged his second solo show at the Lionel Wendt Centre, to high critical acclaim. He says, in reference to his work 'After the Town Hall Bomb': 'in a number of scattered political phenomena, I, as a person, am a non-political to the extent where I couldn't think of anything except asking the question... Who am I as a man in such a country? Because of this I place myself as the only male figure in my work of art. So I have created this work as an expression of myself in a Sri Lankan context.'

ABOUT JAGATH RAVINDRA

Jagath Ravindra was born in 1963 in Madampe, Puttlam district. He received a BFA from theInstitute of Aesthetic Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, and went on to exhibit in Sri Lanka, India and Bangaladesh. He has held seven very successful solo shows and participated in many group exhibitions. His work has garnered numerous awards, and received state recognition.

Jagath Ravindra is employed as a senior art director at a leading advertising company. He is also a visiting lecturer at the Department of Philosophy, University of Kelaniya and at the Institute of Aesthetic Studies of the same University.

His paintings of 'silent figures' and 'Broken Dialogues' depict the Sri lankan soul in isolation, ostracised and withdrawn from all social pressures.

ABOUT DOMINIC SANSONI

Dominic Sansoni is currently director of the Barefoot Gallery, Colombo. Born in Colombo in 1956, he studied in Colombo and at Farnham College of Art, England. He has worked as a professional photographer since 1980, and his work has appeared in many publications, including TIME, Newsweek, Asiaweek and Meridiani. This series of photographs documents over twenty years of research into Sri Lanka's Ganesh shrines. As the 'Remover of Obstacles', Ganesh has long been held in great affection by many Sri Lankans, and stands here as a metaphor for hope in the future of the island.

ABOUT T SHANAATHANAN

Shanaathanan was born in Jaffna in 1969, and studied painting to MFA level at Delhi University, India.

His work has been exhibited in Madras, New Delhi, Colombo and Paris, and is in collections in France, England, Germany, Canada, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. He is currently Lecturer in Fine Art at Jaffna University, in a department which he helped to establish. He has played a fundamental role in re-establishing artistic production in post-war Jaffna, and has done much to promote artistic links between the Jaffna province and the south of the island. He works mainly in mixed media and printing, the works in this exhibition reflecting dark and surreal visions.

** The above information is from the excellent Art Sri Lanka website, click here to visit The October Gallery section of the website. **

Click here to read about the 'Seredipity: New Art from Sri Lanka' exhibition.